FERNANDEZ Leylah Annie

General
FATHERLY ADVICE
Her father Jorge also serves as her coach. "It's honestly really hard because he is very demanding as a father and as a coach. He's always telling the truth and he's there to help me and to push me to achieve my dreams and goals, and I think that some coaches don't want to cross that boundary [of being extremely direct]." (enfuegonow.com, 01 Oct 2020)

HERITAGE
She was born in Montreal, QC, Canada, to a Filipino mother and an Ecuadorian father. "I am a proud Canadian. I have the heritage of two incredible cultures. My father was a little more constant because we spent a lot of time together, so I would always speak in Spanish with him and we ate a lot more Ecuadorian-Peruvian food than Filipino food. But just being able to explore those different cultures, I think that made me a better player. On my dad's side there's a lot of intensity and fire, whereas on my mum's side it's more tactful and quiet. My Latin roots, they're really passionate and loud and sometimes I'm like that on the tennis court. Other times, I'm more like my Asian side where I'm more quiet and think a little bit more and solve problems instead of going full on with the emotions and the intensity." (enfuegonow.com, 01 Oct 2020)

FLORIDA MOVE
At age 14 she moved from Montreal, QC, Canada, to Boynton Beach, FL, United States of America, with her family. The move was designed to enable her and sister Bianca to play tennis all year round. (espn.com, 16 Dec 2020)